Anyone know of any good Space empire games similar to Sins of a Solar Empire?
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Check out Galactic Civilizations, made by the same people that did Sins.
wicked1992
I have always wanted to get this game, but I played the demo and saw the tech tree and I was like "OMGWTFBBQ" (just a note, if you click the link there, it is a 20.1 megapixel image that is almost 9mb of the tech tree in Galactic Civ, 56k, don't do it.)
There wasn't a tutorial in the demo and I was just completely overwhelmed... I always wanted it because you get to customize your ships from the ground up, I just never figured it out lol :D
Hey... I just went to buy Galactic Civ 2 even though I just complained about it... And the Ultimate Edition which includes the original and all expansion is on sale for $10 on Impulse... Just FYI... I am buying it right now :D
Distant Worlds
Link
Video
Features
AI WAR
- Space-based RTS, single player or up to 8 player co-op.
- Powerful emergent AI that retreats, probes defenses, and surprises even veterans with intelligent tactics.
- 30,000+ ships at a time on 10-120 simultaneous planetary battlefields.
- Different Every Time: 16 billion procedural maps, each with specific units. - A focus on deep strategy with nearly no micromanagement.
- PC Gamer UK (November 2009):AI War breaks most of the genre's rules. Which is precisely why it's incredible... This out-of-the-blue one-man passion project is one of this year's finest strategy games.
In general, the mechanics of AI War are pretty conventional within the RTS genre. You collect resources, build ships -- both stationary "building-****" ships as well as mobile ones -- and you prepare for and engage in battles. Genre standbys such as control groups, minimaps, and hotkeys are alive and well here. We made AI War so that it would feel "familiar" to genre veterans (primarily because we're genre veterans ourselves).
Of course, we've also added some new conveniences to make things even easier than ever before -- you do command an awful lot of ships in this game, and a much larger space to manage than most other games, so we've made some great tools to help you manage it all. Intel Summaries, the Planetary Summary, in-game peformance stats, a Find interface on the galaxy map, and quick-buttons along the bottom of the screen are new usability improvements found only in AI War.
Beyond these basics, however, the first thing you need to know about the game is that it's not a true RTS except in its controls. One reviewer described the game as "a grand strategic tower defense 4X RTS," and that's about as apt a description as we can think of. AI War is essentially the first game of a new strategy subgenre, and you'll be lost if you don't start out with the in-game tutorials. Fortunately, the tutorials are a load of fun, and the intermediate tutorial lets you play through a whole game while just giving you overall goals and pointers as you go. The AI War fanbase has quite a lot of RTS veterans in it, but also a lot of people who generally prefer turn-based stragegy titles, or who have been tired of RTS for a decade or more. So if you've been looking for something different from "yet another RTS clone," AI War is the game demo you want to try.
Trailer
Demo
http://www.gamersgate.com/DDB-AWZRP/ai-war-zenith-remnant-pack-bundle$23.90
I really recommend this one :P
As devious already pointed out AI War and Distant Worlds(though in the case of DW i refuse to buy from digital river and £40 for a retail copy is absurd).
You've also got Sins + expansions, Galactic Civilaztions 2, Master of Orion 1+2(3 doesn't exist :P ), Space Empires IV or V, Lost Empire: Immortals, Imperium Galactica 2, Sword of the Stars, Neptunes Pride. I'm forgetting a few here but those are the ones off the top of my head.
Although i will say that i haven't played Lost Empire or Imperium Galactica 2 but heard they are pretty good. Theres demos for Ai War, GalCiv2, LE:I, IG2, SotS,
Sins. Neptunes pride is free anyway.
those are all great games:shock::D but I thinks he wants something that has real time combat like sins.. not turn based...As devious already pointed out AI War and Distant Worlds(though in the case of DW i refuse to buy from digital river and £40 for a retail copy is absurd).
You've also got Sins + expansions, Galactic Civilaztions 2, Master of Orion 1+2(3 doesn't exist :P ), Space Empires IV or V, Lost Empire: Immortals, Imperium Galactica 2, Sword of the Stars, Neptunes Pride. I'm forgetting a few here but those are the ones off the top of my head.
Although i will say that i haven't played Lost Empire or Imperium Galactica 2 but heard they are pretty good. Theres demos for Ai War, GalCiv2, LE:I, IG2, SotS,
Sins. Neptunes pride is free anyway.
Ocid1
Check out Galactic Civilizations, made by the same people that did Sins.
wicked1992
technically that is a TBS, not 4X
the only 4X I know of is Sins of a Solar Empire.
Maybe check out Sword of the Stars. It's turn based when building and moving between planets but the battles are in real time and in some respects more impressive than sins.
those are all great games:shock::D but I thinks he wants something that has real time combat like sins.. not turn based... Ah i missed that part in the original post. In that case as you sugested AI War or Distant Worlds(if you can get over Digital River)[QUOTE="Ocid1"]
As devious already pointed out AI War and Distant Worlds(though in the case of DW i refuse to buy from digital river and £40 for a retail copy is absurd).
You've also got Sins + expansions, Galactic Civilaztions 2, Master of Orion 1+2(3 doesn't exist :P ), Space Empires IV or V, Lost Empire: Immortals, Imperium Galactica 2, Sword of the Stars, Neptunes Pride. I'm forgetting a few here but those are the ones off the top of my head.
Although i will say that i haven't played Lost Empire or Imperium Galactica 2 but heard they are pretty good. Theres demos for Ai War, GalCiv2, LE:I, IG2, SotS,
Sins. Neptunes pride is free anyway.
devious742
[QUOTE="wicked1992"]
Check out Galactic Civilizations, made by the same people that did Sins.
mrbojangles25
technically that is a TBS, not 4X
the only 4X I know of is Sins of a Solar Empire.
I don't quite get what you mean by saying GalCiv isn't a 4X game and that Sins is. Sins is by all accounts a shallower(but still awesome)game though i haven't played it with the expansion packs.
Would you consider Civ games, Alpha Centauri, MOO 2 etc etc not 4X games?
I think a better nitpick is that GalCiv is/was made by Stardock, and Sins was made by Ironclad - Stardock was the publisher, not the developer. :D Assuming we're talking real-time 4X-esque games rather than the actual turn-based 4X stuff, I'd second AI War. Also I've heard some friends talk about Sword of the Stars and I even own it on Steam, but have yet to take a serious crack at playing the game.Check out Galactic Civilizations, made by the same people that did Sins.
wicked1992
[QUOTE="wicked1992"]
Check out Galactic Civilizations, made by the same people that did Sins.
mrbojangles25
technically that is a TBS, not 4X
the only 4X I know of is Sins of a Solar Empire.
You might have a special super-secret personalized definition of 4X, but this is from the Wiki....
Definition
4X games such as Master of Orion II let empires explore the map, expanding by founding new colonies and exploiting their resources. The game can be won by exterminating all opponents.
The term "4X" originates from a 1993 preview ofMaster of OrioninComputer Gaming WorldbyAlan Emrich, in which he rated the game "XXXX" as a pun on the XXX rating for pornography. The four Xs were an abbreviation forexplore, expand, exploit, exterminate.Other game commentators eventually adopted the "4X" label to describe a game genre with specific gameplay conventions:
Explore means players send scouts across a map to reveal surrounding territories.
Expand means players claim new territory by creating new settlements, or sometimes by extending the influence of existing settlements.
Exploit means players gather and use resources in areas they control, and improve the efficiency of that usage.
Exterminate means attacking and eliminating rival players. Since all territory is eventually claimed, eliminating a rival's presence can be the only way to achieve further expansion.
These four elements of gameplay have been described as the four phases of a 4X game session.These phases often overlap with each other and vary in length depending on thegame design. For example, theSpace Empires series and Galactic Civilizations II: Dark Avatarhave a long expansion phase, because players must make large investments in research to explore and expand into every area.
[QUOTE="mrbojangles25"]
[QUOTE="wicked1992"]
Check out Galactic Civilizations, made by the same people that did Sins.
Ocid1
technically that is a TBS, not 4X
the only 4X I know of is Sins of a Solar Empire.
I don't quite get what you mean by saying GalCiv isn't a 4X game and that Sins is. Sins is by all accounts a shallower(but still awesome)game though i haven't played it with the expansion packs.
Would you consider Civ games, Alpha Centauri, MOO 2 etc etc not 4X games?
a 4X game is a game on the grand scale of a TBS, but occurs in real time
a TBS game is where you make moves for every unit, then you press an "end turn" button, and wait for your opponents turns.
Sins is a 4X, as it occurs on a scale similiar to a TBS game but has no button. GalCiv is a TBS because it has a turn button
Sorry, not trying to start anything lol, its just the facts.
And no, Civ, Alpha Centauri, etc are not 4X games.
[QUOTE="Ocid1"]
[QUOTE="mrbojangles25"]
technically that is a TBS, not 4X
the only 4X I know of is Sins of a Solar Empire.
mrbojangles25
I don't quite get what you mean by saying GalCiv isn't a 4X game and that Sins is. Sins is by all accounts a shallower(but still awesome)game though i haven't played it with the expansion packs.
Would you consider Civ games, Alpha Centauri, MOO 2 etc etc not 4X games?
a 4X game is a game on the grand scale of a TBS, but occurs in real time
a TBS game is where you make moves for every unit, then you press an "end turn" button, and wait for your opponents turns.
Sins is a 4X, as it occurs on a scale similiar to a TBS game but has no button. GalCiv is a TBS because it has a turn button
Sorry, not trying to start anything lol, its just the facts.
And no, Civ, Alpha Centauri, etc are not 4X games.
Wouldn't exactly call them facts thats your opinion which seems to differ wildly from my own and an awful lot of peoples definition of what a 4X game is.
[QUOTE="mrbojangles25"]
[QUOTE="Ocid1"]
I don't quite get what you mean by saying GalCiv isn't a 4X game and that Sins is. Sins is by all accounts a shallower(but still awesome)game though i haven't played it with the expansion packs.
Would you consider Civ games, Alpha Centauri, MOO 2 etc etc not 4X games?
Ocid1
a 4X game is a game on the grand scale of a TBS, but occurs in real time
a TBS game is where you make moves for every unit, then you press an "end turn" button, and wait for your opponents turns.
Sins is a 4X, as it occurs on a scale similiar to a TBS game but has no button. GalCiv is a TBS because it has a turn button
Sorry, not trying to start anything lol, its just the facts.
And no, Civ, Alpha Centauri, etc are not 4X games.
Wouldn't exactly call them facts thats your opinion which seems to differ wildly from my own and an awful lot of peoples definition of what a 4X game is.
so sorry, it is not my opinion
People have been calling TBS games TBS games all my life; the 4X genre didnt pop up until about a couple years ago, or whenever Sins came out.
[QUOTE="mrbojangles25"]so sorry, it is not my opinion People have been calling TBS games TBS games all my life; the 4X genre didnt pop up until about a couple years ago, or whenever Sins came out.Makarinot to be too mean about it, but you got it pretty much exactly wrong. Exhibit A, Wikipedia link, as quoted earlier. The term '4X' originated in 1993 - it doesn't specifically refer to turn-based games, but it just happened to be 99.9% TBS games because of how they functioned. Exhibit A, Part 2: if you'd like more specific evidence, here's the 2006 edit of the Wikipedia page, two years before Sins was released. Note the list of games being referenced that remained unchanged on the list on every edit up to and through the release of Sins - Civilization, Master of Orion, Alpha Centauri, Heroes of Might and Magic, Galactic Civilizations - basically the titans of the TBS genre. Exhibit B, Sins' own official page:
Q. What exactly do you mean by the phrase "real-time space strategy"? A. This means that Sins of a Solar Empire is primarily a real-time strategy game (RTS) but, incorporates some of the best features of space strategy games (4X). One could almost say it's an "RT4X" game. Real-time refers to the continuity of play. Most space strategy games are at least partially turn-based, which means each player must wait for the other players to complete their turns before the game can continue. Sins of a Solar Empire is played entirely in real-time, meaning players compete simultaneously and are never waiting.sinsofasolarempire
well I'll be damned...
it is just I have been gaming for over 20 years now, and I have never heard anyone refer to a turn-based strategy game as a "4X" game.
Websites, friends, associates, neighbors, fellow gamers, and just about everyone have always called such games as Civ, Alpha Centauri, etc (in short, empire-building games) as turn-based strategy.
It sounds like 4X is the genre, and RT4X and TBS are subgenres, i.e. Sins is a 4X, and Civ is 4X, but Sins is a real-time 4X (RT4X) whereas Civ is a TBS 4X.
And with that, allow me to post this image:
Either way, I am too set in my ways to change, and technically I was not wrong in calling Civ a TBS and Sins a 4X...so there :P
Dead post is dead, I know. But this last comment really chapped my ass and I had to dust off the old username to vent.
No apology, no retraction, just abject refusal to admit you wasted everyone's time or that you were clearly calling everyone else wrong despite a very kind individual explaining gaming essentials with evidence and articles. You aren't "technically right" because you said one true thing amongst a bunch of false stuff. F you.
Kudos on your willingness to be Ignorant for a couple decades before converting to Stupid for the rest of your lifetime regarding this and undoubtedly other issues. Oh, and the implication that you won't tell all of those mistaken people around you, giving them at least the OPTION to be educated, is a nice touch. The argument that a 4X can't be a TBS is like saying an apple can't be a fruit because it's an apple. I'll bet you even pronounce it "Four Times" games as well!
Anyways.... I can't see the image you posted on this reply, but I hope it's a picture of a lolcat that is making a stupid face that says "Trust me. I haz 20 years of gayming xperience."
-Endless Space (it's new and stuff).
-Galactic Civ II (it's complex and stuff).
-Master of Orion 2 (it's a classic).
Hate to say, alas you are horribly wrong.a 4X game is a game on the grand scale of a TBS, but occurs in real time
a TBS game is where you make moves for every unit, then you press an "end turn" button, and wait for your opponents turns.
Sins is a 4X, as it occurs on a scale similiar to a TBS game but has no button. GalCiv is a TBS because it has a turn button
Sorry, not trying to start anything lol, its just the facts.
And no, Civ, Alpha Centauri, etc are not 4X games.
mrbojangles25
RT4X are traditionally turn based, this is a genre dating back well over a decade and well before SoASE was an idea in a developers mind.
Hate to say, alas you are horribly wrong.-Endless Space (it's new and stuff).
-Galactic Civ II (it's complex and stuff).
-Master of Orion 2 (it's a classic). [QUOTE="mrbojangles25"]a 4X game is a game on the grand scale of a TBS, but occurs in real time
a TBS game is where you make moves for every unit, then you press an "end turn" button, and wait for your opponents turns.
Sins is a 4X, as it occurs on a scale similiar to a TBS game but has no button. GalCiv is a TBS because it has a turn button
Sorry, not trying to start anything lol, its just the facts.
And no, Civ, Alpha Centauri, etc are not 4X games.
skrat_01
RT4X are traditionally turn based, this is a genre dating back well over a decade and well before SoASE was an idea in a developers mind.
People trolling threads like this? Gamespot PC has reached an all time low it seems. Anyway I recommend Alpha Centauri, it's very popular on SB, here an LP of it:: http://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/lets-play-sid-meiers-alpha-centauri.178014/People trolling threads like this? Gamespot PC has reached an all time low it seems. Anyway I recommend Alpha Centauri, it's very popular on SB, here an LP of it:: http://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/lets-play-sid-meiers-alpha-centauri.178014/ZubinenIf you mean mrbojangles25, well, that's just plain ignorance on display unfortunately. Have to agree on AC, it's a wonderful game, I have my original boxed copy of AC sitting behind me. Glorious manual too - incredible detail, fiction and even development history at the back.
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